“Me, Me, Me” Is the Mantra of the Trump Administration

David Lee
McMullen is a historian working in U.S. and British History. After a
decade at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, he is
joining the faculty of the University of North Carolina Charlotte in
the fall. He is the author of Strike!
The Radical Insurrections of Ellen Dawson.

While Donald Trump and his circus of
chaos continues to both entertain and terrify the world, providing
fascinating talking points for political pundits, talk show hosts and
late-night comics, it is also distracting us from some of the more
significant changes that are taking place behind the scenes, changes
that are distorting both our national persona and our global image.

For almost 400 years America has seen
itself as a “city on a hill,” an example of goodness and virtue
for the rest of the world. (Ronald Reagan added the adjective in the
phrase, “shining city on a hill.”) It is a vision chiseled into
the American ethos, seemingly as indestructible as the presidential
faces carved into Mount Rushmore.

America first imagined itself as a
shining city more than a century before the founding fathers gathered
in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence. The vision
comes from John Winthrop’s sermon
“A Model of Christian Charity” given to a group of Puritan
colonists aboard the Arbella, the flagship of a fleet of
eleven ships in route to the newly created Massachusetts Bay Colony
in 1630.

In his sermon, Winthrop provided a
simple and inclusive message of love, explaining that in the struggle
ahead, the colonists “must
love one another with a pure heart fervently. We must bear one
another’s burdens.” The origin of Winthrop’s
words can be traced to the Sermon on the Mount, part of the bedrock
of Christianity, where Jesus told his followers, “You are the light
of the world. A city on the hill cannot be hidden.”

Those who believe this country is
unique among the nations of the world have long pointed to Winthrop’s
sermon as a foundation for the principle of American exceptionalism.

Over the years some of our most famous
Presidents have also drawn upon Winthrop’s words, speaking of the
responsibility of this nation to set a positive example for the rest
of the world.

Days before his inauguration as
President, John F. Kennedy addressed the General Court of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Quoting Winthrop, JFK spoke of
historic qualities such as courage, judgment, integrity and
dedication.

“Today the eyes of all people are
truly upon us – and our governments in every branch, at every
level, national, state and local, must be as a city upon a hill –
constructed and inhabited by men aware of their great trust and their
great responsibilities,” Kennedy said.

Reagan, in his Farewell Address to the
Nation, explained his own perception of the role of this nation on
the global stage.

“I've spoken of
the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever
quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a
tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept,
God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony
and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and
creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors
and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get
here. That's how I saw it, and see it still.”

Any serious
student of American History understands that the shining city has yet
to be achieved, rather it is a ring for which the nation has
continually grasped.

For more than half a century, since the
end of the World War II, the world has looked to America for
guidance. We have been the leader of the Free World. During those
years we expanded our definition of diversity, we sought to build a
better world for all, not just the rich and powerful, not just those
inside our own country. We shared our wealth with the rest of the
world, knowing that by doing so we were making it a better place for
all. We believed in Winthrop’s model of charity and we tried to
live up to his expectations.

Today the eyes of the world remain
fixed upon this nation, but in this new Trumpian Era what they see in
no way reflects the shining city that Presidents Reagan and Kennedy
described. The old image of a nation “open to anyone,” inhabited
by individuals “aware of their great trust and their great
responsibilities” is rapidly crumbling away.

At the White House they abandon old
alliances, they talk about building walls, closing doors, turning
America into an armed camp, hostile to the rest of the world. They
rattle their nuclear sabers, abandoning concern for civil liberties,
human rights, and the environment, as they shout down those who
question their actions. They unabashedly incite the mob, dividing
Americans with lies designed to spread fear and hostility, all so
that they can fill their own greedy pockets.

It is not just the President who is
changing the image of America. Congress is filled with equally
greedy politicians who publicly parade their Christianity at every
opportunity, but ignore one of its primary tenets – simple charity.
Instead, they would have the nation abandon the poor and needy, not
just beyond our borders, but within our country as well.

Many of the individuals in positions of
power have begun to resemble the infamous moneychangers Jesus is said
to have driven from the temple.

Unfortunately, driving out these greedy
individuals is no simple task, especially since their corruption is
supported by the hypocrisy of millions who pretend they are setting a
morally upright example for others. They talk about freedom and
democracy as they promote their own selfish agenda, ultimately
facilitating the destruction of one of the pillars of the America
Dream.

Where America once took great pride in
being the best hope for the world, our shining city on the hill has
become nothing more than a quagmire overflowing with greed, a dark
and dingy ghetto teeming with hate. “Me, me, me” seems to be the
new national motto.

And unfortunately this dog-eat-dog example is being watched and
replicated around the world.